The Wimbledon champion reveals her 'body just can't take it any more' as she steps down from playing
Marion Bartoli has announced her retirement today in a shock move following her Wimbledon 2013 triumph.
The tennis champion made the announcement after losing to Simona Halep in the second round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She told wtatennis.com: 'That was actually the last match of my career. Sorry. It's time for me to retire and call it a career. I feel it's time for me to walk away actually.'
The star made headlines last month when she won her first grand slam title at the All England Club, beating Sabine Lisicki. She's overcome serious injuries to continue playing and has now openly discussed the crippling pain she suffers every match.
Marion said: 'My body just can't do it anymore. I've already been through a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year. I've been on the tour for so long, and I really pushed through and left it all during that Wimbledon.
'I really felt I gave all the energy I have left in my body. I made my dream a reality and it will stay with me forever, but now my body just can't cope with everything.
'I have pain everywhere after 45 minutes or an hour of play. I've been doing this for so long, and body-wise I just can't do it anymore. When you dream about something for so long and you've been on tour for many, many, many years and you've been through ups and downs and highs and lows and already a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year, my body was really starting to fall apart, and I was able to keep it together, go through a lot of pain throughout Wimbledon, and still make it happen.
'That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me.'
So what can we expect from her next?
She adds: 'There are so many things to do in life rather than playing tennis, so I'm sure I'll find something. I just need a bit of time to settle down. There is some excitement as a tennis player. There is a lot of excitement as a woman. There is a lot of excitement as a wife. There is a lot of excitement as a mother. There is a lot of excitement to come up. Obviously I'm excited to live my future, but I will have time to think about it in the months, years to come.'
Let's hope this isn't the last we see of Marion...
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